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Captain Li quickly contacted the principal of Fourth High School and learned the basic information about Song You. Song You was a graduating senior this year, a student in Class 8 of the third year. Song You's homeroom teacher, Mr. Gu, was a history teacher.
According to Teacher Gu, if he had to describe Song You in one word, it would be "average." Song You's academic performance was neither good nor bad; occasionally, he would get into fights or cause trouble, but his personality was relatively introverted, and he didn't like to communicate much with others. He had a few friends but generally did not attract attention.
In Teacher Gu's words, with a little effort, he could get into college; however, if he relaxed too much, he might miss out on university altogether.
Teacher Gu did not believe that such a child would have any enemies or harbor hatred strong enough to resolve things in such a way. However, the immediate priority was to find out whom Song You had contacted last and who had seen him last.
The principal had already informed the teachers of Class 8, and they would call students from both Class 8 and other classes to find out who this student was.
On the night of August 12th at ten o'clock, this student was located.
At that moment, members of the task force, Captain Li, and several detectives were at his home.
This student was named Zhang Jiapeng. According to Zhang Jiapeng, on the evening of August 8th, Song You came alone to Anxiang District. After staying overnight at his house, they went straight to an internet café the next morning. They played there until around eleven ten when Song You received a phone call and hurriedly left the café.
"You remember the time so clearly?" Old Shao looked at the boy.
Zhang Jiapeng replied confidently, "Definitely. We started early and could play until twelve. He was addicted to gaming; he always played until the computer shut down automatically. But when he got that phone call, he rushed out without me being able to stop him. I noted the time; it was exactly eleven ten."
Song You was murdered on August 9th at around three o'clock in the afternoon. The fact that he received a phone call at eleven ten and then left in a hurry was crucial information for the task force members to identify who the murderer might be.
"Do you know who called?" Old Shao asked.
Zhang Jiapeng shook his head, his tone slightly angry. "I don't know. I asked him who it was and what they wanted, but he just said it was none of my business and left in such a cool manner as if I were begging him."
Jiang He looked at Captain Li and said, "I have a fifty percent chance of believing that this phone call is related to Song You's..."
Jiang He's mention of "death" remained incomplete as Old Shao interjected: "Disappearance; it's related to Song You's disappearance. Let's find out who last spoke with Song You."
"Song You is missing?" Zhang Jiapeng asked.
Old Shao did not answer but instead asked Zhang Jiapeng if he had obtained Song You's phone number.
After inquiring about some simple matters, the project team stepped out of Zhang Jiapeng's house. It was easy to rule out Zhang Jiapeng as the murderer; checking the surveillance at the internet café would confirm that. Old Shao knew that most internet cafés typically delete their surveillance data once a week.
Xu Yiman asked, "Why did he go missing?"
Old Shao looked at Xu Yiman and explained, "Song You left because of a phone call, which means the caller is someone familiar to Song You, at least someone he knows. Therefore, after receiving the call, Song You hurriedly left. If we release the news that Song You is confirmed dead, this person might become wary."
Jiang He added, "Based on the concealment and capability shown by the murderer in disposing of the body, I have a seventy percent probability of believing that the murderer wouldn’t use a card registered under their own name. This clue will likely be hard to trace."
Just as Jiang He finished speaking, Captain Li approached them. "Good news! I sent this number to the Forensic Science Division, and they quickly traced the call made on August 9th at 11:05 AM. The name registered to this phone card is Zhuang Ziming. When the Forensic Science Division compared Zhuang Ziming's information, they discovered that he is also a student at Anxiang District Fourth Middle School."
Xu Yiman laughed, "The slap in the face came too quickly, like a tornado."
Upon hearing this, Old Shao pondered for a moment before turning back into Zhang Jiapeng's house.
Based on information provided by Zhang Jiapeng and Teacher Gu, details about Zhuang Ziming were now laid out before the project team.
Zhuang Ziming, male, from Shangxi City, seventeen years old, high school graduate.
Both Zhang Jiapeng and Teacher Gu had poor opinions of Zhuang Ziming. To sum it up in one sentence: Zhuang Ziming was just there to get a high school diploma; he often smoked, fought, and skipped classes without learning anything. His parents were involved in trade; while not wealthy merchants, they came from a high-income family. They had spent several thousand to enroll him in school.
Zhuang Ziming was at the bottom of his class but was generous with his money, so many students hung out with him. He often stood in front of all the teachers and students to reflect on his behavior and had become somewhat of a notorious figure. However, Song You and Zhuang Ziming did not belong to the same social circle and had little interaction; Teacher Gu also did not know how these two connected.
However, when the police called Zhuang Ziming's phone, it had already been disconnected.
This unusual situation made Old Shao's heart skip a beat; with his keen investigative instincts, he suspected that something might have happened to Zhuang Ziming as well.
The police then called Zhuang Ziming's parents and learned that they had been out of town for over a month and would not be back for some time. When informed that their son might be missing, Zhuang Ziming's parents were dismissive.
Zhuang Father said, "He's old enough; why should we worry? It’s obvious he’s off somewhere having fun. Can he really be dead? Tell his teachers not to worry; whether he attends class or not doesn’t matter. When I get back, I’ll give each of them a ten-thousand-dollar supermarket gift card. That’s it; I’m busy here."
After hanging up the phone and reflecting on Zhuang Father's words, everyone felt speechless. It seemed that this father was still living in a dream world; he didn’t even realize his son had been on summer break for two months already.
However, Zhuang Ziming's parents did not care about him, and the investigation team could not give up on the case.
After inquiring about Teacher Gu and Zhuang Ziming's home address, the investigation team and the criminal police split into two groups.
The investigation team went to Zhuang Ziming's house to investigate, while Captain Li went to check the last location of Zhuang Ziming's mobile phone signal.
In the car, Old Shao spoke up, "Song You and Zhuang Ziming are in the same class. Now that Song You has been dismembered and Zhuang Ziming is missing, there must be something twisted going on here."
"Is it possible that Zhuang Ziming is the murderer?" Xu Yiman said while driving. "Zhuang Ziming had the time, space, and place to commit the crime; the only thing we don't know is whether he had a motive."
Given the current situation, Jiang He found it hard to refute Xu Yiman's words.
The journey was silent as Jiang He stared blankly into the dark void outside. The clouds hung lower and lower, creating an oppressive atmosphere. The sultry air felt like an invisible hand tightening around everyone's throats, making it hard to breathe; even the breeze that blew in carried warmth, leaving everyone feeling lethargic.
The car arrived at Anxiang District and Golden Coast District.
Golden Coast District was considered a more upscale area. In addition to high-rise buildings, there were also many duplex apartments situated farther away from the taller buildings, making them quite expensive. They parked in front of Zhuang Ziming's home and approached the doorbell, but there was no response from inside.
Jiang He turned on his flashlight and began to circle around, observing.
"It seems like there's no one inside," Xu Yiman said as she moved to a ground-floor window, trying to see inside through the drawn curtains.
However, it was pitch black inside; it was already midnight, and it was unclear whether Zhuang Ziming was asleep.
Shao the Elder suggested, "Let's ask the property management if we can check the surveillance footage to see if anyone is inside."
"No need to check," Jiang He interjected. "It rained last night in Shangxi City, washing the stone-paved ground clean. Look at your own feet; you left footprints on the stone path as you walked by. I've observed that aside from our footprints, there is only one other person's."
With that, Jiang He walked to the front door and pointed at a milk box on the wall. "The milk in this box is full; this means the homeowner hasn't come out to collect it. Only the milk delivery person has been here. This indicates he left before the rain stopped, which must have been quite some time ago. After leaving, Zhuang Ziming never returned. I just don’t know where he went. Moreover, he must have left in a hurry."
With that thought in mind, Jiang He moved to the back of the house. He shone his flashlight up at the second floor and noticed that one of the windows was open; at that moment, the curtain was fluttering gently in the breeze.
"We know that Zhuang Ziming lives alone, so this window must have been opened by him," Jiang He said. "If it were raining, he would have closed the window, which means it wasn't raining when he left. Shangxi City has experienced several heavy rains recently, so based on the timeline, I have a sixty percent probability of believing that Zhuang Ziming left before August 8."
Old Shao was surprised that Jiang He could come to such a conclusion after just a quick glance, but logically, the reasoning made sense.
Song You also left home on August 8; could there be a connection between the two?
At that moment, Old Shao's phone rang.
Upon answering, he realized it was Captain Li.
"Old Shao," Captain Li said, "the tech department has quickly traced the source of Zhuang Ziming's last phone call. After tracking it down, we found that the last signal from his phone came from the teaching building of Anxiang District Fourth Middle School at 11:10 AM on August 9. After that, Zhuang Ziming's SIM card has not made any other calls. However, the tech department can only pinpoint it to within a hundred meters, so we are now at Anxiang District Fourth Middle School."
"You all need to hurry," Captain Li's voice sounded urgent.
At the same time, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky as thunder rumbled ominously; it seemed rain was imminent.
"What happened?" Old Shao asked.
Captain Li replied, "In one of the lockers, we found a body that had already decomposed."
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